Wrath (Dirty Soul MC: Long Beach #2)

Chapter 37

One Week Later

“ D id ya get it?” I ask, knowing how much work Eden put into her presentation. I didn’t want to have to hear this over the phone, but I got far too much going on here.

“I got it!” The excitement in her voice is infectious and when I punch the air, nearly knocking the cake outta Alicia’s hand as she passes, I swear the look she gives me could fuckin’ kill.

“Babe, I’m so fuckin’ happy for ya. I knew you’d get it. Look, I gotta go. I’m real busy here.” I shrug an apology at Saul’s sister, before pointing out to Dev where the next row of chairs should start.

“Oh…Okay.” I hate that she sounds disappointed. She never said anything but she would have wanted me to be the one who drove her to her presentation today and it should be me waiting for her when she came out. “I promise I’ll make it up to ya later. Just tell Rocco to take the drive home, steady.”

“Aaron,” she says my name before I hang up. “I love you.”

“I love ya too.” I smile to myself before I hang up, then taking a deep breath I check around me to ensure everything is ready.

“You need to loosen up. It ain’t like ya gotta worry whether she’ll show or not. You’re kinda railroadin’ her into this.” Ruckus hops down from the step ladder and checks the garland, Polly and Anita have made from fresh flowers is hanging evenly over the arch that we built on the beach

“Can I get down now?” Sasquatch, who’s been balancing up the other side looks grumpy. But that's nothin’ new.

“I just want it to be perfect for her.” I look at the rows of chairs and the rose petals that form a trail down the makeshift aisle, and up the balcony steps. I could never have put all this together without the help from the girls and all my brothers, and I’m still not sure how Peyton’s managed to keep it all a secret.

Maybe Ruckus is right about me railroading her, but I knew from the day Eden returned to the club that I wanted her to be my wife. There is no chance on this earth that I would risk losing her a second time. What happened to my sister has made me realize that life is far too short to wait for anything. I applied for our marriage license the day after my father got put to justice, and I gotta say I’m impressed with what we’ve pulled off in just a short week.

“It’s perfect, she’s gonna dig it. Now, about that suit?—”

“Ruck, you're my best man, you're wearin’ the damn suit.” I let him know that it ain’t up for negotiation and when Raze starts making his way up the aisle toward me, wearing one of the same, I can tell he’s got something on his mind.

“Wrath, we need to talk.” He pulls me outta earshot.

“Can't it wait till after I marry your sister?” I try to reorganize the flowers that are in the mason jar at the end of one of the rows and end up making it worse. I leave it alone and wait for Raze to tell me what's troubling him.

“Peyton’s actin’ weird.” He leans in close and talks under his breath.

“You worried you’ve knocked her up for real this time?” I laugh at him.

“No.” He shakes his head in frustration.

“It’s all this weddin’ shit. I put a ring on her finger over a month ago, she’s probably lookin’ around at all this and thinkin’ I wasn’t serious about it.”

“Raze, your old lady ain’t actin’ weird.” I gesture my eyes up to the balcony where she’s got Saint, Vike, and Saul shifting benches. Seeing Rocco getting all tangled up in the white fabric he’s trying to drape between the railings has us both laughing. “She’s lovin’ this. In fact, I think she may have found a future occupation. I could never have put all this together without her. I think you're the one who wants to make things move faster, and I can relate to that.” I leave that for him to figure out and start heading toward the balcony so I can rescue Rocco.

“Wrath,” he calls after me and when I turn back around and see how serious he is, I got a good idea of what's coming.

“I don’t need to give you a lecture about takin’ care of her, I already know you're gonna do that. I guess what I really wanna say is that I’m happy for ya. You deserve this just as much as she does. We got a real tough fight ahead of us, but we’ll get there. Look at this place, already. I’ll bet this beach ain’t ever seen no weddin’ before.” He laughs to himself and when Vex steps out onto the balcony wearing his suit, we both watch Peyton dust off his shoulders and fix his tie.

“Ya think you’re gonna get him to stick around much longer?” I’ve seen a change in Raze since his father’s been here, surprisingly he seems a little more relaxed. Having a founding member at a club is an asset, and I know for a fact Raze wants him to make this his permanent home, just as much as Eden does.

“I got a few ideas.” Raze winks, before he leads me up the balcony so we can take our next set of orders from his old lady.

“Rocco just text, they’re only a few blocks away.” Ruckus joins me in the club bathroom where I'm straightening out my suit and smoothing back my hair. “Ya good?” he checks, massaging my shoulders like we’re in the fighting ring.

“No, I’m fuckin’ nervous. What if she wanted to arrange this herself? What if I’ve taken somethin’ away from her? Or that I’m movin’ too fast.”

“Relax, she’s gonna love it. Everythin's ready. The minister’s here, she’s all set up down the front, now we just gotta go wait for your girl.” He keeps his voice calm.“I gotta ask, where did ya find a minister that was prepared to come here at such short notice?” He laughs as we step out into the barroom and follow the trail of petals that lead all the way outside and onto the balcony.

“Quinn managed to convince the hospital minister to do her a favor.” I hold my hand up toward her when I see her seated down on the beach, next to Anita. There’s a lot more people here than I thought there would be and I hope it don’t overwhelm Eden when she arrives. All my club brothers are in their seats now, too, and I notice some familiar faces from our other charters who Raze must have invited along.

“You look so handsome.” Peyton claps her hands together when I step toward the railings where she’s waiting.

“You don’t scrub up too bad yourself.” I press a kiss on Raze’s old lady’s cheek and watch as he growls at me.

“Everything’s set up. Laura is waiting outside Eden’s room and me and Alica are ready.” She picks up both bouquets from the table, handing one to Saul’s sister. Eden will walk through that door, Raze will walk her down the steps to the bottom of the aisle where Vex will join them, and they will both give her away.” She runs me through the plan for the tenth time.

“And what if…? What if this isn’t what she wants?” I hate how hesitant I feel. I’m a confident guy, I back myself in most situations, but when it comes to Eden, I question everything. I still have to pinch myself each damn morning when I wake up so I can believe she’s really there beside me. Men like me don’t usually get these kinda chances once let alone twice.

“Believe me, she will want this, it’s what every woman wants.” Alicia stares out over the balcony and sighs dreamily.

“Come on, we gotta go wait down there. Raze and the girls, here, got ya covered.” Ruckus pats me on the back and moves me forward and as I make my journey down the stairs toward the top of the aisle, I feel my stomach tying in knots.

“Hey, kid?” Vex stands up from where he’s patiently waiting to play his role. We ain’t had too much time to talk since he’s been here. I guess I could be accused of avoiding him, I’m sure I wouldn’t be his first choice of son-in-law. “I need to say somethin’ to you before ya put that ring on my daughter's finger, and I know I ain’t got much right to be sayin’ it, but I'm gonna say it anyway.”

I hold my breath and wait for his threat.

“You're makin’ a commitment today, one that I was never man enough to make myself. When ya get to my age, you live to regret the things ya never did. So, I admire ya for what ya doin’ here. I judged ya wrong. I see that now, and I apologize for it. It won’t be the first time that I’ve misjudged a situation.” His head hangs low, and both me and Ruckus know he’s thinking about that boy he trained who went rogue. “That bein’ said, you saw what I’m capable of last week, and I can assure ya that everythin’ you’ve heard about me is true. I may have been absent from Eden’s life, but I never stopped carin’ about her. I’m only gonna get a short shot at bein’ her dad and I’m gonna make the very best of it. That means that while I’m livin’ if you so much as make my daughter cry, boy, I will come down on ya so hard, that what I did to your father will look like a picnic in the fuckin’ park. Ya hear me?” He narrows his eyes in the exact same way that Raze does.

“I hear ya, sir.” I nod my head.

“Glad we got that covered.” He holds out his hand for me to shake and when I take it the old man’s grip crushes so hard I have to shake it out after.

“Did your balls just shrivel up a little?” Ruckus whispers as we continue heading to the top of the aisle

“Just me then?”

I smile at the minister as I take my spot and go over all the last details in my head.

“Ya got the rings?” I check with Ruck.

“‘Course, I got the fuckin’ rings.” He pats down the pocket on his suit, then smiles at me nervously as he quickly tries the opposite one.

“Ruck, you better be fuckin’—”

“I had ya.” He points at me, strolling over to Polly and taking the double-ring box from her hand. “I wasn’t gonna trust myself with these bad boys until the last minute.”

He opens the box to check they're still in there and when I see that the one I picked out for myself has been replaced, I get a lump in my throat.

“That’s a?—”

“An original Dirty Dozen founder’s ring?” Ruckus looks back at me with a clever grin on his face.

“It’s tradition for a founder to pass it down to his son,” he reminds me.

“How did ya get it?” I don’t remember it being on my dad’s finger when we had him captured, if it had been I would have made a point of cutting it off. That asshole doesn’t deserve the respect that comes with that ring.

“Raze found it packed in the bag your old man had with him when they took him from the whorehouse. He switched the rings this mornin’. I guess he figures it belongs to you now.”

“I don’t want anythin’ that belonged to my father.” I look at the ring and shake my head.

“Wrath, this ring never really belonged to Cliff. It was given to twelve men who wanted to build somethin’ special, outta loyalty. Your father was only ever out for himself. This is a new start, not just for Long Beach, but for the whole club. Raze could have asked for anyone to come here and be his second, he chose you.” My best friend smiles as he snatches the box shut and when I look up at the balcony and see my president leaning over the rails looking down on us, I nod back my appreciation and smile because, for the first time in my life, I really like where the future is heading.